Dear Editor:

The plans for the Turkey Run Landfill as presented in 2005 did not seem ominous or even unreasonable to many local citizens. Later, as the situation developed, an entirely different picture unfolded and became alarming as it began to appear that our elected officials are not protecting even our most basic needs—clean water and air.

Dumps, where all sorts of trash and garbage are piled up and concentrated, for many reasons have always been a very bad idea. But until recently landfills seemed to be necessary for the disposal of waste. And the LaGrange Landfill appeared to be one of the least objectionable. Its process of bio-degradation and its capture and use of methane gases make it one of the most up-to-date of such facilities.

However, there are wide differences between the present LaGrange Landfill and the one under construction by Greenbow, LLC.

Most significantly, the LaGrange facility is not located on the banks of a vital water source. Turkey Run is sited on Blue Creek which is a tributary of the Chattahoochee River and West Point Lake, thereby creating a major health threat for Troup County and all areas downstream.

The LaGrange Landfill accepts only local waste and is crucial to local business. Turkey Run is designed to be a convenient and lucrative (for private owners) place for dumping the world’s garbage since the State of Georgia does not prohibit importing waste.

The permitted capacity of the LaGrange Landfill is less than six million cubic yards; Turkey Run is set to be more than six times that at more than thirty-five million cubic yards.

The LaGrange Landfill is not located in a principal traffic area nor is its site near a cluster of eating establishments. Turkey Run is located on Hogansville’s only exit from Interstate 85 and is within a very short distance from nine (9) facilities which serve food.

There does not appear to be any effort to increase development in the immediate vicinity of the LaGrange Landfill. Greenbow’s plans show their solid waste landfill as the centerpiece of an area surrounded by proposed industrial, commercial as well as residential development in close proximity to the dump itself.

The LaGrange facility is a public landfill; as such it is owned, operated, and monitored by the City of LaGrange and serves the public need without placing undue burdens on local citizens. Turkey Run is a privately-owned, privately-operated purely commercial enterprise.

As stated above, the LaGrange Landfill seems to have management whose aim is to provide a necessary function as economically as possible while causing the least possible damage to the environment. Greenbow, LLC does not appear to operate under the same constraints, since its primary function is financial profit for the private owners.

Greenbow has been diligent in their propaganda to sell the idea of this mega-dump. But not even they make a claim that the landfill liner will not leak, nor can anyone dispute the fact that the leachate (garbage juice) from landfills contains significant poisons and that landfill gases degrade the quality of the air. Common sense and scientific research agree that landfilling is a process which has caused devastation and irreparable harm to the environment and human health.

Concerned environmentalists the world over are making some headway toward finding better solutions for waste disposal. In many areas informed and responsible government officials and community leaders are making concerted efforts to block landfill construction in their jurisdiction. On the other hand, in some locations, through negligence, apathy, greed, and/or political pressure, some local officials are not only not standing against importing trash, but are welcoming it and making concerted efforts to convince themselves and the local population that building and supporting a giant dump on the watershed of the area water supply and major recreational facility is supporting “progress”.

West Point Lake has been vital to our community; it is a travesty for outsiders to be allowed to compromise it.

Mildred S. Burdette

Hogansville